Several children have been pulled out of the rubble alive at a school in an Oklahoma City suburb. However, with between 20 and 30 kids still missing, rescuers say they don't expect there to be any more survivors.

KSHB

Emergency responders dig through the rubble at Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., after a mile-wide tornado blasted through the city on Monday, May 20.

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MOORE, Okla. (AP) - Several children have been pulled out of the rubble alive at a school in an Oklahoma City suburb. However, with an estimated 24 kids still missing, rescuers say they don't expect there to be any more survivors.

An Associated Press photographer saw several children being pulled out of what was left of the Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., on Monday after a massive tornado hit the region.

Rescue workers lifted children from the rubble before they were passed down a human chain and taken to a triage center set up in the school's parking lot.

Oklahoma City station KFOR reports the students were told to cling to the walls as the storm passed over them. Seventy-five students were in the school when the tornado struck, and between 20 and 30 victims are assumed to still be in the rubble.

According to CNN, seven children at the school have been confirmed dead.

The school is southwest of Oklahoma City. Its roof appears mangled and the walls had fallen in or had collapsed.

The National Weather Service said the tornado's preliminary classification was an EF-4, with winds up to 200 mph.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said "hearts are broken" for parents wondering about the fate of their children. The search and rescue effort will continue throughout the night.

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